To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which Cabinet Ministers stayed at the British Embassy in (a) Beijing between 19 and 24 February 2005 and (b) Dubai between 19 and 23 September 2003. (136324)

No Cabinet Ministers stayed in these embassies. My right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer was in Beijing for one day during this period. He was also in Dubai from 19 to 22 September 2003 to attend the Annual Meetings of Boards of Governors of the World Bank Group and International Monetary Fund (IMF). As chairman of the International Monetary and Financial Committee the IMF provided and paid for his accommodation.